OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton ended its two-game losing skid Saturday by running away from DePaul for an 83-66 Big East Conference basketball victory.

The No. 16-ranked Bluejays made a strong case for staying in the Top 25 an all-around performance that helped erase memories of their worst performance of the season in a 20-point loss Wednesday at Georgetown.

Khyri Thomas led four players in double figures with 18 points and had a team-high seven rebounds and six assists after the Bluejays were held to a season-low 51 points against the Hoyas.

"It's been a tough 10 days for our program and I think everybody understands why," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. "Every day we're getting a better understanding of what it's going to take and how we have to play."

Creighton shot just 34.5 percent against Georgetown but that success rate went to 55.8 percent (29-of-52).

Marcus Foster (15), Justin Patton (14) and Cole Huff (12) also finished in double figures for Creighton (19-3, 6-3 Big East)

"I thought their overall performance from start to finish was really solid," DePaul coach Dave Leitao said. "It was a balanced effort. I think everybody that played played well for them, and give them credit for that."

Things didn't go so well for DePaul as the Blue Demons fell to 8-13 (1-7 Big East) and made just 37.7 percent (23-of-61) from the floor.

DePaul made just 25 percent of its shots in the first half of the game. But the Blue Demons had no interest in giving up after that rough first half and cut Creighton?s 15-point halftime lead to nine points less than three minutes after the intermission.

Billy Garrett and Brandon Cyrus led DePaul with 18 and 12 points, respectively. Forward Joe Hanel pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to go with eight points.

The Blue Demons opened the second half making four of their first seven shots while trimming Creighton's lead to 46-37 on a 3-pointer by Garrett from the left baseline. The Bluejays regrouped and built their lead back to 17 points at 61-44 on a layup by Thomas.

"I thought our defensive intensity, communication and execution, especially early in the game, was as good as it's been," McDermott said. "The reality of it is it's going to have to be what we're about. To be able to turn some of that defense into offense, which we were able to do today."

The Bluejays used defense to take away any hope of one last comeback by the Blue Demons. The final time Creighton got within 11 points the Bluejays used another strong dose of defense to put DePaul away for good with just over seen minutes to play.

Following a 3-pointer by Cain that pulled DePaul to within 67-56, the Bluejays went to the acrobatic section of their playbook or the next eight points.

A dunk and layup by Patton off alley-oop assists from Thomas were followed by another a Tyler Clement-to-Foster high-arching pass for another slam dunk that gave Creighton a 73-56 lead.

"We talked about alternative guys, not just the names when you talk about Creighton like Foster or Patton," Leitao said. "I feared a guy like Thomas, who doesn't get the attention and acclaim that the other guys get, can really hurt you."

NOTES: Former Creighton pitcher and current Seattle Mariner Pat Venditte was the lucky fan chosen for one of the timeout on-court shooting challenges in the first half. Venditte is the ambidextrous pitcher who made his MLB debut in 2015 with the Oakland A's. For the record, he took his shots with his right hand. ... DePaul leads the all-time series between the two teams 16-15, but Creighton now has won eight of the last nine and can even the series with a win in the Feb. 11 rematch in Chicago.